Two schools to find one home at Jefferson

Victor Cristales/Reporter-News
Sam Gibbs, left, and Grayson Bunnell load a lunch table into a truck as they move Taylor Elementary’s equipment from its temporary location at Jefferson Middle School back to Taylor’s refurbished campus on Thursday.

Sam Gibbs (left) and Cody Moore remove a lunch table from the Jefferson Middle School cafeteria on Thursday as they move Taylor Elementary’s furnishings from a temporary location at Jefferson back to Taylor’s refurbished campus.

Victor Cristales/Reporter-News

Two of Abilene's most troubled student populations soon will share a single building.

The Houston campus serves 30 to 45 special education students of all ages who have severe emotional issues.

The Travis Opportunity and Reassignment Center educates students serving time for major discipline infractions.

In fall 2011, the two schools will each get their own wings on the old Jefferson Middle School campus, which will be renovated with $1.9 million of 2004 bond money. The Abilene Independent School District board approved the new facilities plan Monday.

The plan has been discussed for more than a year, but Houston administrator Connie Mangin has heard from some parents concerned about the convergence of seemingly divergent populations — especially as Houston serves students as young as 6.

She said the proposed Jefferson floor plan seems to indicate the Travis and Houston programs will have solid separation in

the building with separate entrances.

In addition, she said she believes the single location makes some sense.

"I think there are some significant similarities," she said. "The students at Travis and Houston both need additional training in the social aspect of school and getting along with others."

She said that with more room, the AISD can invite services such as counselors with Mental Heath and Mental Retardation to the building to serve parents of both programs on one site.

"We are just very pleased the board went ahead and made the vote for us to consolidate the programs at Jefferson," she said. "I think it will be very helpful to both of us."

Larry Davis, AISD director of special education, agreed, noting the goal of both schools is to "empower students to control emotions and behavior so they can go back to their regular campuses."

The schools also could save operating expenses.

Houston swells

District historians aren't sure, but many believe the Houston campus was built in 1920 as the Americanization School for Spanish-speaking children. The tiny school's purpose evolved until it started serving students with psychological disorders in the 1970s.

For years, it has been known as the Houston Student Achievement Center, or SAC. Last year, the school dropped the SAC in attempts to encourage the idea that the school is a therapeutic facility rather than a discipline center.

"Each student has a layer of problems that require a very different approach," Davis said. Some may have autism or mental retardation, while others have normal cognitive levels but struggle with home situations, he said.

"You'd see them in the mall and never know — and you probably have," he said, adding, "We don't perceive Houston as a permanent placement. It is a treatment facility with the goal to transition them back to regular campus with the tools they need to cope with the stress of interactions in a larger school."

Houston's enrollment varies as students move through the program, but the enrollment of 45 at the end of the 2009-10 school year was much higher than enrollments of 28 and 25 the past two years. With residential programs such as New Horizons expanding in Abilene, that enrollment could continue to climb. Davis added that the high teacher-student ratio must remain for effective programs.

"The extra space (at Jefferson) will be nice," he said.

Travis groans

Boards cover the windows of the dark-brick Travis campus on South Ninth Street.

During the winter months, the old steam-pipe heaters groan and clang in the bowels of the building. The narrow stairs leading up three stories would never pass today's compliance codes.

"I think people would be stunned to know we're still using a 1921 building in this condition," said Joe Humphrey, AISD's construction coordinator. (During his long AISD career, Humphrey has served as principal of Travis, Houston and Jefferson.)

"We have got to get rid of Travis," he said, wondering if the district can get more than $30,000 for the entire lot. He added that the bakery operating out of Travis' auxiliary building already is being phased out.

Travis was originally an elementary school. But for the past 30 years, it has hosted students who have committed major or recurring discipline infractions short of felony offenses. Long-termers stay on one floor, while short-termers stay on another. Despite a fluid enrollment, special education students are present every day.

"At Jefferson, we'd be able to help with Travis special education students in a much more hands-on way," Mangin said. "I think if we can do that, their return rate may not be as much as it has been in the past."

Travis enrollment also is higher this year than in recent years. On the last day of school, the program had 37 students compared with 30 and 27 the previous two years.

Jefferson hospitality

On his desk at the OneAISD building, Humphrey has a crusty pipe with a corroded joint that his crews had lifted out of Jefferson's air-conditioning system.

"I asked them to bring it so I could see how bad it was," he said. "You never know when one of those is going to blow out."

At least half of the $1.9 million in bond money set aside for the project will be used to replace the air-conditioning and heating systems. The related asbestos abatement will take most of the rest.

Jefferson was built at the same time as Franklin, which will be torn down next year to make room for a new elementary school.

"For reasons we can't totally account for, Jefferson has always been in better shape than Franklin," Humphrey said. "It just seems to have weathered better. I know Franklin had more termite problems and Jefferson had a fire in west wing that led to some renovations some years ago. Perhaps that's part of it."

And since Jefferson stopped serving as a middle school in 2005, it has hosted schools displaced by their own renovations. Meantime, Franklin has suffered debilitating vandalism that the district hasn't bothered to repair.

As Travis and Houston programs move in, Jefferson still will have room to continue to host the high school gymnastics program and Sodexo custodial services.

The music building will remain empty unless another campus program needs a new home.